My Wines

My Cellar

Clos du Bois didn’t start small and build up like many other wineries - it started with a bang. When it produced its first vintage in 1974, it already had 520 acres under vine in Alexander Valley, part of Sonoma County. When Frank Woods was coming up with the name for his winery, he thought of “Woods Winery,” obviously named after himself, but his children had somet... Read more

Clos du Bois didn’t start small and build up like many other wineries - it started with a bang. When it produced its first vintage in 1974, it already had 520 acres under vine in Alexander Valley, part of Sonoma County. When Frank Woods was coming up with the name for his winery, he thought of “Woods Winery,” obviously named after himself, but his children had something else in mind. They were taking French at the time, and instead of “Woods Winery,” they thought of “Clos du Bois,” which loosely translates to “enclosure in the woods.” Obviously the name stuck, and Clos du Bois was born.
Since then, Clos du Bois has come a long way. From 520 acres, the winery has expanded to 925 acres of their own, along with many partnerships with other wineries. Instead of partnering with a few, large vineyards, the winery works with many small- and medium-sized growers across numerous appellations. Most of the grapes it purchases from other vineyards are from Sonoma County, but some come from Coastal California as well. Erik Olsen, their current winemaker, joined in June 2003, and has since taken those grapes and made them into very well-received wines.
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